Maze Runner

by James Dashner

genre: dystopian, youg adult

A fantastic start, but the book fell flat towards the end. Find out why I gave it 3 out of 5 stars!

Summary

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

Review

This book is surrounded by hype. I decided to pick it up after seeing the movie trailer. The concept motivated me to read the book before I watched the movie. I still haven’t seen the movie, but I’d like to!

I found it hard to put down for about the first third of the novel. Nearly every chapter ended on an amazing cliff-hanger that kept you reading. I really enjoyed the no-fuss writing style with minimal description. It really helped drive the plot. But after the first third of the book, I felt things start to change. Maybe it’s because once you’re a third into the novel, you’re meant to feel invested in the characters, and I wasn’t. The main character, Thomas, is a Gary Stu. He’s just a conventional, good guy protagonist but he has no personality (because he doesn’t remember who he is). I think the end wouldn’t have fallen flat, or the ‘climax’ moments would have had more impact, if I cared about the characters. I think the author sacrificed character for plot and too much so. After sucking us into the story, he should have used the opportunity to make us care about the people we were reading about.

But I kept reading after the first third even though it started to become more ‘meh’ or average. I thought the world/concept was too cool not to know what was behind it all. I think people should read it if you feel like a decent dystopian YA book that isn’t immature and deals with some heavier themes. It could have been so much more though! This was a plot-driven novel with very little character. It started out as a 4-5 star and ended up being a 3.

Now I’ll discuss some aspects of the books but with SPOILERS. Look away now! Continue reading →